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November 21, 2013

Why Some Patients Resist Becoming Empowered

This is not an easy thing to assess,
but many patients do not attempt to learn or become knowledgeable
about why they see the doctor. This attitude may be costing them
money, but they seem to care less. As long as the doctor can give
them a pill, which enables them to get on with life, they are
satisfied.

Here are some of the types of patients
that will not work at or attempt to become empowered.

#1. Lazy or apathetic patients

These patients are generally not
patients the doctors wish to see in their exam rooms. Doctors know that these patients can
promise anything, but they will walk out of the office and forget
about it. Their apathy prevents them from even thinking about why
they saw the doctor in the first place. They are number uno in being
non-compliant and this is why they cancel appointments or don't even show
up. Doctors soon become tired of them and discourage their office
visits.

#2. Patients who engage in nonsense
thinking

These patients believe that all they
have to do is show up for an appointment, then fill a prescription,
and they will be as good as new. These patients may be easy for
doctors to care for, but they may not be listening to the doctor, may
not be taking their medication, and are not doing themselves or their
doctors any favors. They generally are in denial of the important
role they can play and this will have negative consequences in their
well-being and their relationships with their doctors.

#3. Patients who are too trusting

While most doctors are reluctant to
admit this, for many, this is their favorite type of patient. These
patients are quite adherent, make their doctors god-like, and feel
that the better behaved they are, the better care they will receive.
Many patients, especially the elderly, have existed a lifetime
trusting that their doctors will provide them great advice in their
best interests. Even if these beliefs have been disproved time
after time, these patients will never make their own decisions,
question the doctor's decision, and will continue doing just what
they are told to do by the doctor.

#4. Patients who are too ill or
incapacitated

These patients generally are not
healthy enough to be able to participate in their care to say nothing
about becoming empowered. These patients generally need an advocate
to speak for them. Whether the advocate is a family member, friend,
or a professional advocate, good doctors appreciate an advocate’s
role in helping patients that are unable to act wisely on their own
behalf.

These patients have in the past have
suffered a medical error or have experienced egregious behavior by a
provider. They, or a loved one, may have been injured by or violated
by a doctor, or they may have been treated by a doctor who was drunk
or high. It is no wonder that these patients want to avoid the
doctors. Some of the patients who avoid care do so because of
modesty issues. Many of these patients suffer post-traumatic stress,
which further inhibits their ability to seek care. With these
patients, they know intellectually that avoiding care may make them
even sicker, or will exacerbate an injury.

#6. Patients who fear retaliation

For whatever reason, these patients are
afraid to stand up for themselves fearing retaliation and poor care
from the provider. For some reason they lack the confidence to
advocate for themselves. Most of these patients don't realize they
can question the doctor in a polite way to get the care they need.
They need to realize that doctors will not provide substandard care
in reaction to empowered patients who practice respectful
empowerment. The key is “respectful,” because best empowerment
practices require respect from all participants. No doctor is worth
seeing at all if he or she retaliates by providing less than stellar
care to a patient who asks good questions and makes considered
decisions.

#7. Patients that are healthcare
illiterate or illiterate

These patients are troublesome to many
doctors. Often doctors are not even aware of the problems these patients
experience. It is a wise doctor that discerns this problem in
patients. Most of time, as long as the bill is paid, no one may be
the wiser. My blog here describes what can happen when an illiterate
person asks for help. When doctors become aware that the patient is
healthcare illiterate or illiterate, most will ask that they bring a
family member or friend to help them. Some will even take extra time
to explain what is necessary and make sure they understand what is
happening. It is a poor doctor that knowingly ignores a patient with
this problem if they are aware of it.

#8. Patients that will not believe
anything the doctor says and then head to the nearest holistic healer
or health food store

These patients are the bane of most
doctors. All they are interested in obtaining is a name for what
they have and then they tune the doctor out. They will take
prescriptions if given them, but will never have them filled. Most
of the time these patients just want information to describe what
they need from the health food store or holistic person. The doctors
can only hope that they don't need an operation or have something
serious as even these are often refused.

There are probably more types of these
patients that have little or no respect for gaining knowledge about
helping themselves. Granted the illiterate are a special case
because they haven't the skills to become empowered, but given
encouragement by their doctor can progress a long way toward this. I
included them because they do need legitimate help, but often the
office staff ignore them unless the doctor makes them help.

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About Me

I am enjoying life, despite diabetes type 2. I am retired and enjoying the time I have for writing and photography. I was diagnosed with type 2 on Oct 2003, on oral meds for 4 months and they were doing nothing to really improve my daily readings. By cutting my carbohydrates I received the most improvement, but still not enough. Then I requested insulin, even though I did not like the thought of needles. That brought about the biggest change and A1c's in the lower 6's and upper 5's. Now I am working at maintaining them under 6.0 and hopefully nearer 5.5.